Late-night hosts critique Trump's 2025 primetime address amid turbulent year
Jimmy Kimmel opened his final 2025 monologue reflecting on a year he described as strange and hard. He recounted a brief suspension of his show due to pressure from the Trump administration and the death of bandleader Cleto Escobedo, before signing a one-year contract extension with ABC. Kimmel expressed gratitude to viewers for their support and emphasized the role of late-night hosts in helping audiences feel less crazy during ongoing national turmoil. He commented on the state of the American way and urged Americans watching from abroad to know that many are not OK with current events.
Kimmel critiqued President Trump's primetime year-end address, labeling it loud and filled with numerous lies, adding humor about the involvement of fact-checkers. Seth Meyers also criticized the address, noting it framed the situation as great while targeting Democrats and joking about stopping yelling at the audience. Meyers highlighted Trump's claims that other countries were not laughing, blamed the Biden administration for border issues, and asserted that Democrats want higher health premiums. He praised a purported prior national dire state turning to prosperity under Trump.
Stephen Colbert discussed the White House's request to pre-empt networks’ primetime programming for Trump's address. He mocked the performance with quips including “Merry That-mas” and references to Trump's exaggerated self-presentation. Colbert argued that the apparent emergency prompting the address was more about political optics and poll numbers, noting that post-address remarks were reportedly redirected to the press.
